Georgia Tech Football: Yellow Jackets Prepare for Crucial Road Game vs Pittsburgh Panthers

Paul Johnson’s Yellow Jackets (5-2, 2-2 ACC) are going to travel to Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pa to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers (4-3, 2-1 ACC). Pittsburgh comes into this game favored by 3.5 points.

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The Yellow Jackets are going into this game with some adversity. They are coming off of two straight losses and Pitt holds a 5-3 edge in the series with the Yellow Jackets having a 0-3 record in Pittsburgh all-time.

We do need to keep in mind that the 0-3 record in Pittsburgh comes from early last century and that Tech has not played in Pittsburgh since 1920.

Also, two of the three wins Tech has collected came in bowl wins back in the 1950’s with a 1955-56 season win in the Sugar Bowl, and a 1956 Gator Bowl victory.

The Jackets are also going into this game without B-back, Zach Laskey, who is not going to be available for this game because of a bad shoulder which is going to make this game even more difficult for the Jackets.

Pittsburgh brings one of the stingiest defenses in the nation to the field. The Panthers are ranked 4th overall in the FBS allowing 279.4 yards per contest to opponents. The Panthers have only yielded 15.7 ppg to their opponents all year.

Offensively, the Panthers have one of the best running backs in the country in sophomore James Connor.

Connor is in the running for ACC Offensive player of the Year and definitely has the numbers to garner the consideration.

Connor has rushed the ball 172 times for 959 yards and 11 touchdowns through seven games this season. He is 41 yards away from becoming the 13th player in Pittsburgh history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

Overall, Pittsburgh’s rushing attack is 20th in the nation at 239 yards per contest.

Pitt sophomore QB, Chad Voytik, leads a pretty conservative passing attack. Voytek has completed 94 of 160 (58.0%) passes for 1,041 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Panthers leading receiver is sophomore Tyler Boyd who has 36 catches for 514 yards and five touchdowns this season.

What is going to make this game exciting is the battle between the irresistible force that is the Georgia Tech option attack, against the immovable object that is the Pitt Panthers defense.

Even with Zach Laskey being out for this game, these two forces going at each other is going to be intriguing to watch. Charles Perkins should be able to pick up the slack, however, this week.

Pitt only allows 111.1 yards per contest to the run, while Georgia Tech rushes the ball to the tune of 306.3 yards per game.

Paul Johnson’s all-time in his career is 2-0 against the Pitt Panthers and last year the Jackets defeated Pitt 21-10 at Bobby Dodd on November 2, 2013.

This is going to be a solid contest. Georgia Tech is going to want to get back on track after dropping two straight and Pitt has an opportunity to put some separation between themselves and the Yellow Jackets in the Coastal Division standings.